Copper31

That is a great idea gr8.

One thing I found to help me out are glow sticks. I use them to mark the trail as I track. I get mine from Grainger but I have use the cheap glow necklaces also. It just helps if you lose the trail you can look back and get a direction of the deer.

Rob/PA Bowyer

Awesome Idea guys.

BobCo19-65

That is a good idea for tracking in the dark.

nybowhunter

Can you see the blood with a glow stick? I've never heard of this.

BowKnutt

Like I said before Rob very informed post thanks---
And every body has some good ideas to go with it ---
Something I do is take a compass reading after the shot beforeI get out of the stand---Things look different when you 15/20 foot up a tree--I usually mark the route the deer took and alsoI listen for the crash and take a reading of that too--

A few years ago this came in handy while hunting in a flooded area--No blood trail--knee deep water around the ridgeI had a stand on--killed two does one in the morning one in the afternoon--listen for the final splash-took reading got down and walked straight to them!!

Copper31

No they won't help you see blood any better, but they will help you keep a visual on the blood you already found. That way if you lose blood you can look back andget a line and give you a direction.

dragonslayer1

Got a blood trail story for you. Shot a big buck off my food plot in 'Bama with my .270 and he ran off with several other bucks that were in the plot. In afew minutes, the other bucks came back in the plot, minus big boy. I was sure of the shot but waited 'til dark, eased out, got my brother-in-law and came back with the truck to run the other deer off and pick up my buck. We looked and looked in the plot and finally found where the deer kicked out and ran. There was no blood for the first fifty yards or so and I was beginning to doubt myself. As we started into a hardwood bottom following the running tracks, my brother-in-law let out a silent but deadly fart and never said a word. When I walked into his scent stream I said, "man, do you smell that? I have gut shot that deer!". After a few more yards we found my buck shot right behind the shoulder. My brother-in-law started snickering and I called him a few choice names. I have to excuse him, after all, he's a yankee!
One real tip for bowhunters is if your broadheads won't shave, don't shoot 'em!!! It'll make your trail jobs a lot shorter and easier. Think about it. If you cut yourself shaving, it's hard as heck to get the bleeding stopped. The reason for that is that when a vein, artery or capillary is cut clean, there isnothing for the blood to adhere to and clot. On the other hand, a cut from a dull knife usually stops bleeding in short order because of the jagged edges on blood vessel endsthat allows blood to clot quickly.

mjhamel

I have two comments/questions thatI would like to share/ask. First off, many states start the bow season in September when temperaturesmay easilyreach the upper 80's for daytime highs and only the upper 60's for nighttime lows. All the information that has beenshared so far is excellent, but I would like totalk about warm weather tracking a little more, especially since we are all probablydealing with this scenario right now. I totally disagree that finding a deer with spoiled meat is ALOT better than not finding one at all. I think it is a waste to notput every bit of energy into finding and SAVING every bit ofdeer meat.So what does everyone think?Obviously, a good solid hit warrants a quickerresponse to tracking, but what about those marginal hits?How long do you wait...you don't want to come back in the morning when the deer meat has spoiled.

Second, Rob's #8 comment on pushing the animal to bleed out. This may be overlooked some, especially when an animal is hit in the shoulder and there is little penetration. If you do have some penetration and there is a slight blood trail, I think pushing the deer to keep it from clotting is the best thing to do. Anyone disagree? Feel free to comment on my thoughts/opinions...I am by no means the expert.

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dragonslayer1

You got it, MJ. Here in North Florida in bow season you'd better be on the blood trail pretty quick. Our woods are absolutely infested with bears and it is rare that a dead deer will make it 'till morning without being devoured. If it does, there's a good chance it will be bloated and spoiled. I even had a grey fox eat a large portion of a ham off a deer I didn't find until a couple hours after dark, would've thought it was a 'yote if I hadn't seen him. Anybody else ever had a fox eat part of a deer?